


A Binary Sunset

by Nuju



Series: Imperial Short Stories [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Kenobi - John Jackson Miller
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-16
Updated: 2019-03-16
Packaged: 2019-11-19 09:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18133829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nuju/pseuds/Nuju
Summary: He wanted to, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t tell her what had happened to him, what he had experienced, what he was doing here. He couldn’t bear the thought to put her at risk, just as he had done with Satine.





	A Binary Sunset

**Author's Note:**

> The entire "Kenobi" story has always made me wonder what Obi-Wan was thinking with all that was happening on Tatooine at the time. So here's a one shot written from his perspective about him and Annileen becoming close. (I copied the dialog from the novel "Kenobi" by John Jackson Miller, this is not my OC.)

“Well, I better get the equipment inside while there’s still light. It was a lovely day. Thanks for the help.” Obi-Wan walked passed Annileen and made his way to the coolant unit. He could feel how tense she was without even looking at her. And he had a suspicion where this tension might be coming from. Suddenly, she turned around and stepped in his way, just as he was trying to bring the unit inside his hut. “Ben, should I marry Orrin?” He looked at her for a moment. He couldn’t tell what exactly she wanted although he guessed he already knew. “Do you want to marry Orrin?”  
Her face contorted into a grimace. “Not especially. A lot of people think I should.” Inwardly, he smiled. She was pretending to be unsure, so he played along. He lifted the coolant unit up from the ground and said: “I’m sure your other friends would be more qualified to advise. Leelee –“  
She interrupted him. “No, not Leelee.” The expression on her face spoke volumes. She may have trusted her best friend, but she wasn’t going to ask her about relationship advice. Obi-Wan imagined that it might have had something to do with Leelee Pace being a Zeltron. They were known to be rather… impulsive. As he tried to enter the hut she stepped into his path and gently took the coolant unit from his hands. “I want to know what you want me to do.”  
He shrugged, feeling a little bit uneasy. “It’s your life. Every individual decides his or her own fate.” She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Everything’s an adage with you. Ben, are you telling me you’ve never had to deal with a real life situation? Or you had to make a decision about someone else?” Her frustration was obvious. So much so that he avoided meeting her eyes. “I’m human. There was someone, once. It wasn’t to be.”  
Annileen laughed lightly. “And you gave up and moved to the Jundland Wastes? I’d say you didn’t find the right person.” He lifted his gaze and looked back at her. The way she looked at him, the raw emotion hidden behind her eyes shook him to his core. He had only seen this look once, a long time ago… “Perhaps I did. But I wasn’t the right one.” The memory of her pained him deeply, yet as he looked at Annileen, he felt the same respect, admiration – love emanating from her. She smiled at him. “More double-talk from crazy Ben.”  
After another moment, she took a step closer towards him. “Well, I don’t think you’re so crazy. I think you found someone you didn’t expect to find. And that’s not a bad thing.” She reached out with her hands. Something inside him made him lift his hands to stop her. “Annileen, no. I can’t do this.”  
It pained him to say it, it pained him to withdraw from her. But he couldn’t do this again. He couldn’t lose someone else he cared about, that he deeply cared about. He felt foolish for not realizing it earlier. She seemed to have noticed it, too. “Are you sure?” She met his gaze, her green eyes sparkling like raindrops on the soft green leaves of Alderaanian maples. “I think you can.”  
“No, I definitely can’t,” he countered half-heartedly. She smiled warmly at him. “Everyone loses the reigns once in a while.” He suppressed a laugh, which came out as a weak chuckle. She definitely knew how to disarm him with his own words. “I said that, didn’t I?”  
Her expression changed, becoming more serious, her voice softened. “Yeah.” She took his hands into hers and gently pulled him close to her. Never before had he wanted to give in so desperately, he didn’t want to resist her touch, didn’t want to turn away. He wanted to do so much, to tell her that, that…  
But he couldn’t. He wanted to, but he couldn’t. Couldn’t tell her what had happened to him, what he had experienced, what he was doing here. He couldn’t bear the thought to put her at risk, just as he had done with Satine. And now, looking at Annileen, he knew deep within, that he would not be able to let her go if he gave in. It took all his strength to turn away from her, but he had to. “What is it?” Her voice was hoarse and on the brink of tears. He couldn’t blame her. It was his fault. He had allowed their relationship to become too close too fast. He wanted to apologize for everything he had done but he knew it wouldn’t help either of them. So he said nothing.


End file.
